History of The Great Britain National Rugby League Team - 1990s

1990s

France gained their first win in 23 years across the Channel in 1990 as they won 25-18 at Headingley.

In 1990, Great Britain made their first full-scale tour of Papua New Guinea. A combination of soaring temperatures, altitude and the atmosphere created by over 11,500 Papua New Guinea fans, many clinging to trees outside the tiny, ramshackle ground in Garoka, unnerved the tourists. Papua New Guinea beat Great Britain 20-18, the Lions one and only loss to the Kumuls. The series was tied 1-1. Great Britain then won a series 2-1 in New Zealand.

Great Britain defeated Australia 19-12 in the first test at Wembley on Saturday 27 October 1990 in front of a new record home crowd of 54,567. It was the first time that an Australian team had been beaten in Britain for twelve years and 37 matches. Australia made eight changes for the second Test, held at Old Trafford on Saturday 10 November 1990. With the scores tied at 10-10, with twenty seconds to go Ricky Stuart raced 50 yards before slipping the ball to Mal Meninga who dived over to give the Kangaroos a 14-10 victory. The third Test was won by Australia 14-0 to complete a 2-1 series win.

During the 1992 tour of Australia and New Zealand, Great Britain lost the first Ashes test 22-6 in Sydney. Two weeks later, led by Garry Schofield and with a pack made up entirely of Wigan players, Great Britain grabbed a 33-10 win in Melbourne. However, they lost the third test 16-10 in Brisbane.

The 1989-92 Rugby League World Cup was played out over three-years, the Great Britain side squeezed into the final at Wembley on goal difference. The final at Wembley set a record attendance for a rugby league international that still stands today: 73,631 saw Australia edge Great Britain 10-6 with the only try coming from Steve Renouf late in the game.

Great Britain won the 1993 home series against New Zealand by three tests to nil, including a 17-0 victory at Wembley in the first test.

Mal Reilly stood down as Great Britain coach in 1994. Ellery Hanley was appointed coach of the Great Britain national rugby league team for the Ashes series of 1994, which was held in Great Britain. This was to be the last tour where the Australians would play matches against British provincial outfits, in additions to the Tests. Great Britain won the first test 8-4 at Wembley but lost the second and third tests.

The 1994 Kangaroo Tour was the last played in the conventional format, where the Australian side plays a number of matches against British provincial outfits, in additions to the Test matches. The outbreak of the Super League war meant that the next Kangaroo Tour, set for 1998, never eventuated; although a shortened Tour was staged in 2001. Australia continued its dominance, winning both Test series against Great Britain and France, suffering only one loss (against Great Britain in the First Test), and remained undefeated against British club outfits in a streak stretching back to 1978.

The 1995 Centenary World Cup was held in the UK, but Great Britain was split up in separate England and Wales teams for the second time.

In 1996 Great Britain embarked on a disastrous tour of the Southern Hemisphere under coach Phil Larder. They did not play Australia because of the Super League War, but played and won their first and so far only test against Fiji, before losing a series 3-0 to New Zealand. Several British players had to be sent home early because the tour ran out of money.

Andy Goodway was appointed Great Britain coach in 1997. At the end of that year Great Britain played a home three-Test series against the Australian Super League and lost 2-1. Despite the series being given official test status, these games are not widely regarded as a genuine Ashes series because so many Australian stars were again missing. The continuing Super League war meant that the 1998 Kangaroo Tour was cancelled.

With the Super League War finally over in 1999, Great Britain travelled to the Southern Hemisphere for the first Tri-Nations tournament with Australia and New Zealand. Great Britain struggled to overcome Burleigh Bears in a warm-up match, went on to suffer humiliating defeats by world champions Australia and New Zealand, and then struggled to beat the New Zealand Maoris. It is obvious that a huge gap has opened up once again between the northern and southern hemispheres. In January 2000, Andy Goodway quit as Great Britain coach with a year left on his contract .